The past few years I have heard about hate being too prevalent in society, the youth being our hope for the future, and have seen people fight for their rights. But I did not really believe I could ever make an impact until a few days ago.
On Thursday September 6, 2018, my cousin, otherwise known as “Plaid Shirt Guy,” became an overnight sensation. Tyler Linfesty, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist of sorts, went to the Donald Trump rally, stood behind the president, and due to some well-timed expressions of doubt or downright belief, went viral overnight. His Twitter following went from less than 100 to almost forty thousand in one week. He was in the newspaper, on CNN, mentioned in Stephen Colbert’s monologue on late night TV, and even in the New Yorker magazine. Within a few days, he had gone from being a relatively unknown high school senior in Billings, Montana, to someone found on Wikipedia and whose face is being sold on Amazon T-shirts.
It was so shocking and incredible seeing someone I know so well, make an impact on the world so quickly and surprisingly. It has been an exciting few days seeing the tremendous support he has received, but some of it has also been scary. I have seen hateful comments on Twitter and my aunt has asked my family to report fake accounts on Facebook, fearing extreme Donald Trump supporters damaging her property and incorrect impersonations of her son.
I am not oblivious to the hate in the world, but I had never been so close to it before, making this the first time it felt real. It is easy to pretend something you see online is not the full truth. But being so close to Tyler and seeing the hate, I felt awake for the first time.
While the hatred centered around Tyler’s actions is not nearly as terrible as other situations, it was that personal attachment I had that helped me to fully comprehend the backwardness of the world. I have known Tyler since birth and I can attest to his good character and honest nature, but people who do not know him, find it easy to accuse him of being a future “school shooter” or only in it for the money.
Following this experience, I am more aware of the dangers of our society than ever before, but it does not diminish how powerful Tyler’s statement was. I am proud of how he has expressed himself in his recent interviews and his determination to stand by his beliefs. I will not be able to fully grasp the intensity of the situation from Tyler’s position, but being close to it makes it more real. Now, I truly believe the youth are the future, that we must fight the hate, stand up for our rights, and make our country proud.